Two December days at Palm Beach and I’m sunburnt and bruised.
The sunburn is my fault. But Donald Trump is the one to blame for the fighting; such is his style of diplomacy. He would have no other option. He’s busy making things happen. That’s how he frames it.
But let’s take stock because there’s still a lot to process. Could you please clarify what has been achieved over the past two days, how significant the heatwave was, and if there were any unexpected developments?
Let’s start with the Middle East and the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu speak outside Mar-a-Lago
“An excellent meeting.” This is how Netanyahu’s spokesman described the day it all came to an end.
You can see why he might think that. Netanyahu got what he came for.
• Should US intelligence conclude, as Israeli spies do, that Iran is indeed regrouping, would Trump’s commitment to bomb Iran again be justified? tick.
• Trump held Hamas fully responsible for the faltering Gaza ceasefire, and he also aimed to prevent phase two from proceeding. tick.
• Will Trump praise Netanyahu as Israel’s defender and wartime leader like no one else? The answer is a resounding “yes” for the election campaign video.
Will Trump publicly say that Netanyahu should be pardoned?
• Will Trump publicly say that Netanyahu should be pardoned in his corruption case and put pressure on the President of Israel to immediately enact amnesty? tick.
There’s a lot to process there.
Trump says that he maintains complete control over Iran. Trump threatened to “destroy” Hamas. How will all these events happen in 2026? If he follows through (a big if), how will his base react domestically? There is a lot to consider.
The moment Trump issued a new threat to Iran
Netanyahu and Trump had some intriguing differences of opinion, one on Syria and the other on the West Bank.
In Syria, Trump said that he wants to bring sweetness to relations between the two countries. He expressed his desire to improve the relationship between the new Syrian president and Israel. Good luck to him if he can. His victory would be an achievement and would be welcome.
On the West Bank, Trump suggested he was concerned about settler violence and expansion. This is a big issue; it jeopardises Trump’s vision for the region. Again – if it can stop the violence and expansion, it will be an achievement.
I’m not holding my breath.
However, as always, there was more information than we anticipated; we did not expect such details to emerge from two independent news conferences where the US President did most of the talking.
He was asked about the attack on Venezuela, which he had casually and vaguely mentioned in an earlier interview.
He confirmed that yes, he had ordered an attack on a “major facility” in Venezuela. That’s the big news – the first American ground attack. However, this was just one moment in a series of diplomatic events that took place at Mar-a-Lago.
This was followed by his response, which appears to be a significant Chinese military dress rehearsal for a blockade of Taiwan.
Was Trump worried? ‘No,’ he said. “I’m not worried.”
Just chill? Or don’t really care? Sometimes it’s hard to know.
This event happened just a day ago with the President of Ukraine at Mar-a-Lago.
Mr Zelensky met with Mr Trump. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine/Photo-Alliance/dpa/AP Images
Is this irony or just madness that Volodymyr Zelensky, coming from a city of real palaces, including his own presidential palace, travelled to Palm Beach—a city often referred to as Disneyland—where he sought support from a former real estate tycoon in his fake palace for the future of his country?
Even though everything appeared to be proceeding smoothly, there was a sense of unease.
Is the Ukraine ceasefire ever closer?
Ukrainian officials told me that they are very pleased with Trump’s stated commitment to security guarantees. They ignored the important issue of how long these guarantees last or whether they can trust Trump’s words. What option do they have?
Of course, there was more. President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin twice, before and after the Zelenskyy meeting. And what he said after the second call piqued the interest.
He announced that Putin told him Ukraine had attacked one of his houses with a swarm of drones.
Zelensky had previously called this claim false, suggesting that if Ukraine did attack, it would be a false flag operation intended to derail the peace process, as Putin does not want peace.
But based on Trump’s tone, it seemed that he was agreeing with Putin. Remember, in his first term, Trump gave more importance to Putin’s words than what his intelligence agencies said.
Thus, the past two days have been filled with mind-boggling news, providing a fitting conclusion to the year.
2026 is an election year for Donald Trump. Midterms are in November. He needs to focus on the “home front,”, as his vice president subtly reminded him a few months ago. The focus should be on the economy and the cost of living, not on foreign conflicts.
Trump knows this. But so do America’s adversaries and its troublesome allies. What risks might they consider in 2026, understanding that they may not be concerned or will simply proceed with their plans?
Buckle up.
